Andrew 4

See it if you enjoy neglected British plays with modern relevance, plays with moral resonance about self-fulfillment & social constrictions

Don't see it if you don't like older plays that may seem creaky at first, easily frustrated by old-time British morality and traditions

See it if you've never seen a live production of this show, enjoy old fashioned musicals, you're a fan of any of the principals, curious about changes

Don't see it if you are expecting a Streisand version, don't like limited-style staging, want extraordinary singing by lead, an odd choice for Fanny

See it if You have seen playwright’s previous work, interested in story of a middle-aged gay “widow” trying to start over, questions of legacy

Don't see it if You don’t enjoy gay content or nudity on stage, don’t want to lock up your phone in a packet, subject matter too triggering

See it if You enjoy farce-like comedies, are a fan of many of the cast members, enjoy political comedies, can make fun of a certain former POTUS

Don't see it if Do not enjoy slapstick or the occasional unbelievable scenario, are unimpressed by controlled chaos, don’t like questionable language

See it if You’re a fan of Edouard Louis & seen previous stagings of his work, curious about the real Eddy & his politics as well as the rest of story

Don't see it if Don’t like productions in foreign languages with supertitles, uncomfortable with gay situations, not a fan of French leftist politics

See it if You enjoy new comedies focusing on life in the theater, plays about friendship & jealousy, plays with drag queens & straight, gay & bi folk

Don't see it if Uncomfortable with gay characters & drag queens, don’t like comedies with serious undertones, not fond of satire

See it if You enjoy riffs on Shakespeare, contemporary comedies, stories focusing on black families and gay offspring, backyard revelry

Don't see it if You don’t like gay content or stories about black families, afraid you’ll need to be familiar with Hamlet, can’t get black or gay humor

See it if you're a fan of Silverman, enjoy adolescent growing up stories, were a fan of Fun Home, want to see Bebe Neuwirth &/or Cassie Levy on stage

Don't see it if you don't like stories about young teens with problems, multi-generation dysfunctional families, expect a large-scale frothy musical,

See it if you like funny yet provocative shows about life in majority-black inner-city schools, unique characters who make an impression, good plot

Don't see it if you don't like plays about high school students who speak in a contemporary urban vernacular, "Godot"-like plots, minor sense of suspense

Also One of the more interesting, creative and ultimately moving plays I have seen this year... Read more Read less

See it if you enjoy new plays & ones with gay themes, enjoy family plays with funny, exasperating characters, appreciate risky topics & talk of death

Don't see it if you are tired of some gay cliches, self-lacerating gays, can't accept premise of 3 generations of gay men together, talk of assisted suicide

Also Had hoped it would be a meatier play with believable plot turns toward the end, though it is nice to see Randy Harrison back on the New York stage... Read more Read less

See it if you're a fan of Hartman & want to see more of her work, enjoy dystopian stories, like looking at a lovely set, ideas of future technology

Don't see it if Confusing, contradictory character development, dishonest betraying characters, pointless incoherent plot, terrified by technology

Also What did I just see? Not kind to the audience!

See it if you enjoy plays about the Holocaust & extended impact on surviving families, enjoy memory plays with narrator, open to new plot twists

Don't see it if You shy away from Holocaust stories, don't like self-indulgent stories that move in unexpected directions or exasperating characters

See it if you enjoy classical plays staged with a modern sensibility, clever direction, a fan of McAvoy, minimalist but powerful

Don't see it if Expect a lot of scenery, props; don't like modern language thrown in or having to listen carefully to dialogue, not a fan of minimalism

See it if you're a Sondheim fan, have loved this musical, loved the performers, and enjoy intelligent theater and music

Don't see it if you want your musicals bright & cheery, want nice resolutions & happy endings, don't want to think & identify musical & language puns

Also One of the best productions of Into the Woods since its Broadway premiere. Haris, Bareilles, Hedley, Benton, Kelly ae all superb! Staging is cogent and exciting, even for an Encores production... Read more Read less

See it if Enjoy humor, watching a character berate herself, hate weddings, enjoy character studies of witty, but unlikable people & identity conflicts

Don't see it if Over-the-top characters disturb you, don't find humor in break-ups & obsessive behavior, drunken characters misbehaving, too brief (?)

See it if Enjoy two-handers, fan of Hunter, enjoy plots about wounded young fathers in small-town America, have an understanding of male loneliness

Don't see it if don't like one act character studies or plots about frustrations of male friendship & fatherhood, slightly confusing transitions & locales

See it if you follow different productions of Shakespeare, want to see Craig/Negga, fan of Sam Gold, enjoy mixed directorial styles

Don't see it if you find Shakespeare difficult to follow, don't like cross-gender casting or minimal staging, you're not familiar with Macbeth

See it if you're a fan of Wilder, enjoy absurd, surreal situations, appreciate metaphoric plots, like dystopian subjects, how great puppetry fits in

Don't see it if Don't like absurd plots that transcend time, don't appreciate satire, not a fan of family domestic plots, uncomfortable with disaster plots

See it if you're a fan of Messing, enjoy character studies & family tales, like plots that move forward through time

Don't see it if you find sudden time shifts confusing, don't like actors playing multiple roles, find the use of birthday metaphor a bit hokey

See it if Fan of the 2 stars or Paula Vogel, wonder if play has endured after 30+ years with original cast, interested in issues of grooming & abuse

Don't see it if you suffer trigger issues about child sexual abuse, too deterred by topic, don't like a 3-person chorus playing multiple roles

Also Just a disturbing as all those years ago, could see more of the girl's susceptibility thanks to Parker's performance, saw that Morse's character deluded himself into really, really believing he was in love with the girl--both gave great performances... Read more Read less

See it if you enjoy gay plots, baseball, any of the stars, and full male nudity on stage, clever writing, dramatic plot twists, friendship among men

Don't see it if you don't like gay plays or baseball, don't appreciate male nudity on stage, don't like depictions of homophobia, didn't like original,

See it if Interested in the suffrage story, fan of Shaina Taub, curious how an all-female cast conveys plot, enjoy discovering brand new musical

Don't see it if Have no interest in mildly feminist musical with all-female cast, no interest in suffrage history, want to stick to myths about America

See it if You enjoy brassy, dancing musicals, fan of Jackman & Foster, never saw a production before, good workman-like show, fine costumes, blah sets

Don't see it if you expect warmth between characters or any sense of complications, want thrilling direction, no innovative choreography, not exciting

See it if you're a fan of the playwright, interested in her takes on slavery & academia, like plots in 2 eras & supporting cast in multiple parts

Don't see it if have no interest in slave plots, don't see a connection between slavery & today, don't get academic rivalries, can't imagine humor in either

See it if You're interested in gay comedies set in post-pandemic Palm Springs with a touch of drama, able to laugh at some cliches, well-cast

Don't see it if Don't like gay material, resent some gay tropes used for laughter, not interested in 30-ish gay culture, don't get gay humor

See it if you like plots about parent-child relationships & disparate people thrown together, carefully evolved twists, easy to follow flashbacks,

Don't see it if you don't like stories about Afghan issues & refugees, or about familial relations, late show twists, or about the US's influence

See it if you enjoy family stories & time-spanning epics, plots about the Holocaust, anti-semitism, grief & denial, strong direction, great cast

Don't see it if you have no interest in Jewish history & modern antisemitism, talk of violence & hints of PTSD, deep discussion of what it means to be a Jew

See it if you want to discover the score, hear some great voices in strong numbers, curious about Porter's direction, enjoy political, darker revisals

Don't see it if you don't like politics inserted willy-nilly into story or dark musicals, don't like arrangements that change score, unworkable plot twists

Also The bare bones set is quite distracting, essentially a door and a slow-moving couch, though costumes are a great distraction, the hip-hop funk orchestrations are great, two great voices add a lot, direction is flat and often stalls, the older JoJo is crammed in, and I didn't think I heard any reference to JoJo being gay. Was that removed?... Read more Read less

See it if you enjoy plays by women & featuring the playwright, fan of Urie, Spahn & cast, enjoy revisionist comedies about Shakespeare. smart wordplay

Don't see it if you regard the Shakespeare story as sacrosanct, don't like broad farce about plague & the bard, don't appreciate standard commedia tropes

See it if curious about an Iranian-set play by Iranian-American female writer, clever use of speaking pace to distinguish languages, societal glimpse

Don't see it if no interest in Iranian set plays, easily confused by different styles of dialogue, have trouble figuring out character's motivations

See it if you are interested in Asian-American playwrights & performers; enjoy solo monologues, concerned about issues of aging, grief & resilience

Don't see it if Don't like monologues, no patience for one lengthy monologue; no interest in Asian-American theatre or discussions of aging & grief

See it if Enjoy dramedies about dysfunctional families addressing generational, LGBTQ & career issues, a tad political, unexpected directions

Don't see it if Don't like belabored family situations, lots of snark, people with control issues or codependence, meaning of work discussions,

See it if if you liked the playwright's Dance Nation, enjoy edgy works with slightly unusual characters, carefully paced shows that connect at end

Don't see it if don't like slowly paced shows with meandering plots and unrelated characters, get easily flustered by nebulous plotting, not a fan of S/M

See it if you enjoy British theater, original unusual works that mystify, tragic & symbolic stories, clever costumes

Don't see it if you are easily confused by what appears to be a meandering, secretive plot (but is not), laughter in the face of tragedy, or British accents

See it if a fan of Morisseau, Rashad or Dirden, enjoy newer plays that tackle contemporary issues with interesting plots, clever staging & dance

Don't see it if you don't like modern plays that discuss modern issues like plant closings, worker anger, the union movement. Plays that incorporate dance

See it if you like Brandon Victor Dixon, up & coming black writers, interested in show's concept, fan of the New Group, enjoy creative dancing

Don't see it if you don't like stories about racism, lack of nuance, predictable plot, bad guys/good guys obvious, mediocre music at best

See it if you like ghost stories, Duncan Sheik music, stories set by the sea, shows bathed in darkness & mystery, the work of the Civilians

Don't see it if you don't like predictable stories, dragged out plot lines, forgettable music, unimaginative staging & poor set design

See it if you're a fan of Enda Walsh or Domhnall Gleeson, enjoy plays that explore limits in mental health care, like odd humor & intense theatrics

Don't see it if You are easily confused & prefer more realistic theater, have difficulty discerning what author is trying to do, don't like odd monologues

See it if you're curious how the film or Lescene's play has been turned into a musical, enjoy enthusiastic youthful performers, like LGBTQ subjects

Don't see it if don't like LGBTQ subject matter, not a fan of musicals, turned off or triggered by talk of suicide or if you had a painful adolescence

See it if you're a fan of Aduba & Jones, want to see a new Nottage play, enjoy light but realistic comedies & plays with characters one cares about

Don't see it if Not a fan of gentle comedies touching on current issues (hiring formerly incarcerated) or 1-act plays, don't care about the perfect sandwich

See it if fan of Lili Taylor, curious about this older Wally Shawn play, enjoy one person shows, like relevant issues such as class and caste

Don't see it if not a fan of one-person plays or Wally Shawn's work, don't like nebulous approaches to class conflicts, not a fan of Ms. TAylor

See it if To see how Shaw was abridged into one act, if you follow the Gingold Group, fan of Karen Ziemba, good actors playing Shaw

Don't see it if Not a fan of Shaw, never been a fan of Mrs. Warren's Profession, Don't like abridgements of classic plays

See it if you're a Sondheim fan, like this musical, fan of Lupone & Lenk, curious how gender change works, see Matt Doyle do Not Getting Married

Don't see it if you're not a Sondheim fan, want stronger plots in musicals, not a Lupone fan, not interested in play about marriage

See it if A fan of the film & want a fun, professional B'way show with a great lead actor & great supporting cast, pleasurable music, decent dancing.

Don't see it if Don't like traditional splashy musicals, esp. those based on films; want your musicals to "say" something, want memorable music

See it if you like farce, absurdity, loopy fairy tales, sight gags, rhyming dialogue, anachronisms, & clowning. Plus cast of off-Broadway favorites

Don't see it if you're not a fan of farce or cheap but funny jokes, overcooked ingratiating performances, bizarre plot twists, tacky sets & confined staging

See it if you want to catch great acting by Victoria Clark & Bonnie Milligan, enjoyed the original play, like plays about acceptance & chasing dreams

Don't see it if you expect a memorable score with more than merely functional lyrics, you wonder why was this musicalized, don't like repetition in staging

See it if interested in contemporary Black plays, seeing Black actors playing believable characters, understanding issues facing modern Black men

Don't see it if you expect more than brief service to current issues, do not like plays taking place in the afterlife or characters considering suicide

Also This play seemed to re-play the scenario of another play I saw earlier this summer called "Kill Move Paradise" by James Ijames which I caught at Hartford (CT)'s Playhouse on Park. in it, four Black men find themselves in the afterlife after encountering death by racism (usually by police), including one bewildered youth, who try to figure out why they are there, what they may have done wrong (if anything), and what was the meaning of their lives. The plays were indeed similar in situation, but they did explore the issues in different ways, and ultimately had different stakes.... Read more Read less

See it if you enjoy discovering new musicals that attempt contemporary relevance, are curious how the film was musicalized, enjoy African drumming

Don't see it if you expect memorable music that propels plot forward, wish for more motion & activity, yearn for creative staging, have immigration issues

See it if you enjoy classic farce with a few contemporary allusions, fine performances from experienced farceurs, & love delicious on stage chaos

Don't see it if you are not a fan of farce, don't enjoy ridiculous but funny plots or doors banging, costumes flying, mistaken identities or plot twists

See it if you're into Black, historical plays; interested in racism issues--even in the theatre; a fan of LaChanze or Chuck Cooper, like dramedies

Don't see it if you don't like slow build-ups, don't like plays from 1955 with up-to-the-minute resonance; not a fan of plays about the theater;

Also This play was written in 1955 and proved popular off-Broadway but a planned Broadway debut went bust because the playwright refused to make changes that would have dulled or glossed over its discomforting edges. For that alone, it is worth seeing on Broadway.... Read more Read less